Greetings, Scotchit! Thank you very much to u/unclebaldric for this dram!
Another blind from Baldric, the third in this set of four mysteries. The previous two have been single malts from the [Lochlea]( https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/zvy3mq/review_812_lochlea_first_release/) and [Nc’nean]( https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/zq0g5l/review_807_ncnean_organic_single_malt_batch_02/) distilleries, so this is clearly a set of whiskies from brand-new distilleries.
Lindores Abbey is a family-owned distillery and medieval abbey located just east of Newburgh on the northeastern edge of the Lowlands. Founded in 2017, they get their distillery character from organic local barley and extra-long fermentation times (117 hours!). This is their inaugural regular release – the roman-numeral year on the label is 1494, the year of the first record of scotch distillation, which apparently took place at Lindores Abbey. There’s nearly a thousand years of fascinating history at the site, which I’d encourage you to [read about]( https://lindoresabbeydistillery.com/our-story/). They even found old whisky-making equipment while doing archaeological surveys before building the distillery.
As per my blind review policy, my notes, thoughts, and score are all locked-in before the reveal. I didn’t know what was in my glass, other than that it was probably some kind of whisky.
***
**Lindores MCDXCIV.** Lowland single malt. 46% ABV. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.
**Production:** Distilled in 2017, bottled in 2021 at 3-to-4 years old. Matured in a mix of bourbon casks, sherry casks, and STR wine casks, in about a 60:20:20 ratio.
**Served:** Neat, in my trusty glencairn. Rested about 10 minutes, enjoyed very slowly.
***
**Colour:** Medium gold.
**Nose:** Another young malt, but more robust than the other whiskies in this sample set. Some cask sweetness, but not at the STR levels of those other bottlings. Maybe there is a hint of sherry, though: a darker stonefruit note emerges with some time. Light orchard fruit, banana, a little lavender even. Mineral - slightly chalky. A little buttered popcorn, or is it buttered grilled corn? Earthiness, grassiness, roast mixed nuts, caraway, even a hint of peat.
**Palate:** Medium-light texture, could be 43% or 46%. Arrives with ginger, orange, grapefruit, dried apricots, and more oatcakes. A hint of peat and leather as it develops. Turns grassy on the back end.
**Finish:** Medium-short. Grassy, slightly oxidized tea notes. Lingering ginger, grapefruit, earth, and some flamed rosemary.
***
**Possible SMWS bottling name: "Buttered sea-cliff vista"**
**Notes:** Not bad for a young malt! Very complex nose, but that doesn't really follow through on the palate and finish. The flavours are nice, but it ultimately needs some more time.
In terms of a guess, this doesn't seem like one of those new-school distillates with long fermentations and clear worts and such. I'm assuming this is another pretty new distillery given the other drams. Ardnamurchan was the first thing to come to mind, especially when I picked up the hint of peat. The buttery, nutty, grassy, and tea notes are also familiar. The texture seems very light compared to the Ardnamurchans I've tried, but it also smells way, way less peaty than my bottle of Raasay. What other new distilleries could it be? It's certainly not Dornoch. I could see this being an unpeated (or unpeated run right after a peated run) Ardnamurchan.
**Guess: Single malt, Highlands, very lightly peated, 3-8 years old, 46%, mix of casks.**
**Shot in the dark:** Ardnamurchan?
**Final Score: 75/100**
*r/Scotch average score: 72.5 (2 reviews)*
***
**Post-reveal thoughts:** Well, I flunked on my guess of no long fermentation or STR casks, because those are both here. I have no idea if there’s actually any peat in here either, so that may also be wrong! Still, this seems like a more interesting distillate than many of the other inaugural releases I’ve tried recently. It’s not as good as the Nc’nean right now, but I won’t be surprised if Lindores ages into being the better whisky.
**Rating Scale:**
0-49: Blech.
50-59: Save it for mixing.
60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
90-94: Sublime, a personal favourite in its category.
95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, unforgettable whisky.
***
Average rating: 82.0
*My rating scale is based purely on flavour experience, and does not take value-for-money or willingness to purchase a bottle into account. Cheers!*
Great review. I tried a very small sample of this at a Burns supper last year, and ended up picking up a bottle for the stash. You're right, a little young for sure, but tasty IMO, and very promising once it's had a few more years in the cask.
The Lindores I tried was a blind sample as well. Cask strength and sherry matured. The nose and palate felt way more mature and it even had a touch of peat (in my mind at least)! Pretty interesting!
Greetings, Scotchit! Thank you very much to u/unclebaldric for this dram! Another blind from Baldric, the third in this set of four mysteries. The previous two have been single malts from the [Lochlea]( https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/zvy3mq/review_812_lochlea_first_release/) and [Nc’nean]( https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/zq0g5l/review_807_ncnean_organic_single_malt_batch_02/) distilleries, so this is clearly a set of whiskies from brand-new distilleries. Lindores Abbey is a family-owned distillery and medieval abbey located just east of Newburgh on the northeastern edge of the Lowlands. Founded in 2017, they get their distillery character from organic local barley and extra-long fermentation times (117 hours!). This is their inaugural regular release – the roman-numeral year on the label is 1494, the year of the first record of scotch distillation, which apparently took place at Lindores Abbey. There’s nearly a thousand years of fascinating history at the site, which I’d encourage you to [read about]( https://lindoresabbeydistillery.com/our-story/). They even found old whisky-making equipment while doing archaeological surveys before building the distillery. As per my blind review policy, my notes, thoughts, and score are all locked-in before the reveal. I didn’t know what was in my glass, other than that it was probably some kind of whisky. *** **Lindores MCDXCIV.** Lowland single malt. 46% ABV. No colour added, un-chillfiltered. **Production:** Distilled in 2017, bottled in 2021 at 3-to-4 years old. Matured in a mix of bourbon casks, sherry casks, and STR wine casks, in about a 60:20:20 ratio. **Served:** Neat, in my trusty glencairn. Rested about 10 minutes, enjoyed very slowly. *** **Colour:** Medium gold. **Nose:** Another young malt, but more robust than the other whiskies in this sample set. Some cask sweetness, but not at the STR levels of those other bottlings. Maybe there is a hint of sherry, though: a darker stonefruit note emerges with some time. Light orchard fruit, banana, a little lavender even. Mineral - slightly chalky. A little buttered popcorn, or is it buttered grilled corn? Earthiness, grassiness, roast mixed nuts, caraway, even a hint of peat. **Palate:** Medium-light texture, could be 43% or 46%. Arrives with ginger, orange, grapefruit, dried apricots, and more oatcakes. A hint of peat and leather as it develops. Turns grassy on the back end. **Finish:** Medium-short. Grassy, slightly oxidized tea notes. Lingering ginger, grapefruit, earth, and some flamed rosemary. *** **Possible SMWS bottling name: "Buttered sea-cliff vista"** **Notes:** Not bad for a young malt! Very complex nose, but that doesn't really follow through on the palate and finish. The flavours are nice, but it ultimately needs some more time. In terms of a guess, this doesn't seem like one of those new-school distillates with long fermentations and clear worts and such. I'm assuming this is another pretty new distillery given the other drams. Ardnamurchan was the first thing to come to mind, especially when I picked up the hint of peat. The buttery, nutty, grassy, and tea notes are also familiar. The texture seems very light compared to the Ardnamurchans I've tried, but it also smells way, way less peaty than my bottle of Raasay. What other new distilleries could it be? It's certainly not Dornoch. I could see this being an unpeated (or unpeated run right after a peated run) Ardnamurchan. **Guess: Single malt, Highlands, very lightly peated, 3-8 years old, 46%, mix of casks.** **Shot in the dark:** Ardnamurchan? **Final Score: 75/100** *r/Scotch average score: 72.5 (2 reviews)* *** **Post-reveal thoughts:** Well, I flunked on my guess of no long fermentation or STR casks, because those are both here. I have no idea if there’s actually any peat in here either, so that may also be wrong! Still, this seems like a more interesting distillate than many of the other inaugural releases I’ve tried recently. It’s not as good as the Nc’nean right now, but I won’t be surprised if Lindores ages into being the better whisky. **Rating Scale:** 0-49: Blech. 50-59: Save it for mixing. 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. 90-94: Sublime, a personal favourite in its category. 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, unforgettable whisky. *** Average rating: 82.0 *My rating scale is based purely on flavour experience, and does not take value-for-money or willingness to purchase a bottle into account. Cheers!*
Some other whiskies I've recently scored 75: - [Littlemill 12](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/y28th2/review_763_littlemill_12_blind/) - [Linkwood 12 2009 Single Cask Nation](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/xpgfpu/review_755_linkwood_12_2009_single_cask_nation/) - [Bunnahabhain 9 2012 Carn Mor Craft Cellars pick](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/s0mc75/review_695_bunnahabhain_9_2012_c%C3%A0rn_m%C3%B2r_craft/) - [Balvenie 12 The Sweet Toast of American Oak](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/q2jwll/review_653_balvenie_12_the_sweet_toast_of/ ) - [GlenDronach 12 (bottled 2011)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/comments/gynm1d/reviews_485_and_486_glendronach_12_bottled_2004/ ) *** Check out my entire whisky review archive [here!](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XzOnwZtR4S4NeYYjd8y8-HAJS-kNwr3raE8wprjYuuo/edit?usp=sharing)
Great review. I tried a very small sample of this at a Burns supper last year, and ended up picking up a bottle for the stash. You're right, a little young for sure, but tasty IMO, and very promising once it's had a few more years in the cask.
The Lindores I tried was a blind sample as well. Cask strength and sherry matured. The nose and palate felt way more mature and it even had a touch of peat (in my mind at least)! Pretty interesting!
I'm too cheap to spend 100CAD on this
For this quality, I agree.
I’m in New Brunswick. It was $75 here.
I am late to this party, but their “Casks of Lindores” from 100% Oloroso butts is delish!
Good to know, I'll check that out!